Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1887-02-11

IL uC ANhN(
yict, Roberts, Whose testimony will
be found below had appeared before the
Board and detailed his punishment. The
Board required Roberts to strip and had
examined into the condition Of his hack;
it was badly lacerated..frOm the whippings
he had received three weeks before. The
Board ordered Roberts to be taken out of
the whip shop and placed in the engine
room as m assistant to MI. Wickham.
The prices Of articles purchased by Super
intendent Peck were often considered too
high by the Board.
On discrimination by Capt. Dovener
the witness said he did not know that per-
Sons were being whipped. The ''shOo fly"
had been in prison for many years, and
was USED for extreme cases Of insubOrdina-
ton. He had no i'll feeling towards Su-
perintendent Peck, and had never ignored
his title. Witness was shown a note ad-
dressed to Nv. E. Wilkinson, Superintend-
ent of the West Virginia Penitentiary,'
and admitted it was in his handwriting.
He did not know Mr.. Peck wac at the
prison at the time the note was written, on
the contrary witness presumed he was alb
sent. The witness said the greed of the
contractors was largely the cause OF the
abuse of whipping. The contractors came
in between the Superintendent and the
convict, and the result was an mad
eauate return to the State and great
cruelty to the prisoners. He knew of no
rule giving the contractors the right to
report q convict for punishment. The
| idea of the State had always been to keep
a convict fully employed without requiring
from him any specified amount of work,
and the men were let TO contractors 50 that
they would lose nothing by the inability OF
one mai to keep up with another.
The Committee then went into secret
session, and examiped several conyIcts,
and later adjourned until this morning,
when the defense will introduce testimony
in rebuttal.
The Committee Yesterday decided TO
make public the testimony of the three
convicts who testified on Wednesday after
noon. and the most interesting portion al
it is here appended.
Abraham Boston, the Wheeling fire bug,
was sworn. and the interview with Harry
Davis, q discharged convict, published IN
the Neirs-Letter of Saturday, February 9th,
WAS read to him. In it Davis said thai
witness, for painting a toy chair ior a
| fellow convict, WAS logged until he was
carried out of the cellar OF the penitentiaIy
insensible, with the blood flowing from his
back and limbs. The witness said:
II was not beaten to insenslblllty, Dut
the guard put Oh ten lashes. The guard,
James Moody, took off his W coat and
mt the lashes on with full force. | asked
for mercy, but he didn't show any. Col.
Peck stood alongside and seemed to ENJOY
il hugely. He and another guard mat was
by stood there aud laughed. had to take
off my coat, drop my pants and throw my
shirt up behind. This was over a year
ago. The guard whipped me with a strap
with holes in il, about ~ large as the eye
let of a shoe. / saw a guard have the same
strap about two weeks ago, smacklng II on
the floor while | was washing. | didn't
see any blood coming from me after was
whipped. | went out crying
O,-For q breach of what rule were you
whipped?
A darkey asked NE to paint achair,
and | took it from him down into the yard
without the guards permission. / had
nv DAYS work done when | took the chair.
| was whipped on the kicking jenny
| don't think there are any stripes on me.
| was hurt on the side of my hip, and the
blood was raised there. / was whipped
once before, since Mr.. Peck anne There
was no strap with holes in it here before
Mr.. Peck came. ! do not know Of anyone
being beaten 20 death or disabled from
work since | haze been here. The morn
ing | was whipped the darkey was whipped
| the same rs | was. | think may he the
guard put il q little heavier on him than
he did OH he.
Q.-IIavc you been punished in any 9TH
er manner than whipping!
A.-Have been bucEed and gagged Il
half hour and was sentenced Ia five days
on bread apd water and hmd to work be-
sides. Tmpudence TO the guard WIS my
offence. | deserved that punishment
was also punished by being hung mp in the
bull rings for asking a guard what he want
ed to know my nam for. | was IN the
bull rings three minutes, ON my tip-tOeS.
1t hurt my wrists, but did not disable me.
The blood running down in the arms
makes il very painful, but II soon wears
OH. Have never seen any, one in the shoe
tlv." hut have heard fellows following. |
consider the punishment | received cruel.
1t was inhuman, and | told Mr.. Peck 81
at the time. will say this much in MIR.
Peck's favor: We get better grub than
ever we got before he zane here. The
prison is kept cleaner and neater h
under Vests administration.
w. 5. Douglas, Il convict, said that rs
far AS he was personally concerned, there
was very little cruel treatment. lie had
been punished in the bull ring and put on
bread and water for speaking to the
Directors. He was never whipped. lie
thought the condition of the prison
would compare Eavorably with. its condi-
ton ut any former time. lie hal been
in nearly nine years.
John &. Roberts, the third convict, tes-
titled rs follows:
II was sent here from Hinton, w. Va.
| an an Englishmau, hut was born 4t Glib
raltar, Spain. l was educated at Eaton
College. | canehere the 2lst of February,
1855. have been whipped four times and
''ShOO hyed' once. The first tine | re-
! ceived five lashes, the next time six, the
next time twelve, and the last time | was
whipped / received eighteen. Col. Peck
whipped me himself that time. ] counted
up to eighteen. That was on June lth
last. lie whipped me- and "shOO iyed' me
both on the same day for the same thing
| short york OH two different occasions. !
was working in the whip shop at that time.
| worked in the engine room from the 59d OF
June till about Christmas, and was then put
back in the whip shop. | have the marks
of the whipping OF the 4th of June on me
yet. 1.-THE prisoner here showed the marks
on his back and thighs. The blood ran
down in under my knees and clothes and
STAYED there OvertwO weeks. My under
wear stuck 10 me five or six days, and
large scabs formed oyer the sores. The Sc
verest whipping | have had was the one
Mr.. Peck gave me. | was not resisting the
whipping in the least. ] begged for mercy
and screamed out, the pain was 81 great. |
was whipped with a strap two feet eight
inches long, four inches wide at the upper
part and tapering down to two and a halt
inches at the point. II was made of thick
sole leather. do not think it was perfor,
| ated.